Auto theft spree leads to multiple arrests

(TULSA, Okla.) On Wednesday, Tulsa Police responded to an auto theft in progress at 3500 S. Peoria Avenue. The suspects stole a 2020 Ford Raptor and left north bound on Peoria Avenue. Officers located the Ford a short time later at 1000 N. Quincy Avenue. Officers tracked the suspects' footprints in the snow and determined the suspects left in another vehicle before officers arrived. Officers located another stolen vehicle at 1000 N. Rockford Avenue and the vehicle was recovered. Officers developed leads on the suspects and discovered multiple video of the suspects using stolen credit cards and stealing another vehicle. The suspects committed crimes across the city. The primary suspect vehicle was a green Subaru Outback which was also discovered to be a stolen vehicle. On Thursday at 1 am, officers with the Downtown IMPACT Unit stopped the stolen Subaru west of downtown. Harold Ford and Jonathan Ford were both arrested and booked into Tulsa County Jail on charges related to the theft of the Subaru. Officers were able to identify Harold Ford from the auto thefts and fraud incidents from Wednesday. On Thursday, officers with the Downtown IMPACT Unit and Gilcrease Division Directed Patrol Unit located the second suspect, Josey Ford at Admiral and Gary Avenue. Josey Ford was arrested and interviewed. Officers recovered additional stolen property and were able to tie Josey Ford to an auto theft from video recovered on the previous day. The investigation is still progressing and officers are working to identify the additional suspects. Additional arrests are expected at a later date. Additional charges were submitted on Harold Ford's docket. He was booked for auto theft crimes, conspiracy, and fraud crimes related to the stolen credit cards. Jonathan Ford was booked into Tulsa County Jail for Joyriding. Josey Ford was booked into Tulsa County Jail for crimes related to auto theft and fraud incidents. The other suspects will be identified once arrests have been made. A lot of man hours went into these crimes and the investigation is not finished. Spending a few extra seconds taking the keys from the ignition when leaving a vehicle unattended will save hours of investigation time and often prevent financial damages that result from auto thefts and related fraud crimes. Leaving vehicles unattended with keys in the vehicle leads to a lot of man hours being put into the auto theft and often times fraud investigations. Unfortunately, the punishment for these crimes in Tulsa County is weak and criminals are not deterred by weak punishments and continue committing the same crimes repeatedly. Citizens can help reduce crime by helping to protect their property and not leaving their keys in the car unattended.